Search

On 28 June 2019, the European Union and Mercosur reached a political agreement to establish an interregional trade agreement as ‘part of a wider Association Agreement between the two regions’. The European Commission and Mercosur member states went on to publish a summary of the negotiating results, while both sides started the process of legal revision. Meanwhile, the European External Action Service and Mercosur representatives were negotiating the political dialogue and cooperation part of the ...

This study looks at the European Commission’s proposal for a new GSP Regulation from human rights and sustainable development perspectives. It focuses on proposed changes to the conditionality provisions with their linked monitoring and dialogue processes that aim to promote human rights, sustainable development and good governance in the beneficiary countries. The Commission’s proposal is not revolutionary as it foresees retention of the three existing arrangements (Standard GSP, GSP+ and EBA). ...

This EPRS paper analyses the implementation of the UK Withdrawal Agreement in three areas identified by the EU as key to ensuring the UK's orderly exit from the Union: financial settlement, citizens' rights and the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol. The citizens' rights provisions contained in Part Two of the Agreement are designed to protect the rights of both EU and UK citizens who had exercised free movement and made life choices based on the rights flowing from the UK's membership of the EU. ...

Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis and Commissioners Schmit and Gentiloni have been invited to an Economic Dialogue on the launch of the 2022 European Semester, in line with the relevant EU law. This briefing note covers the main elements of the 2022 European Semester Package proposed by the Commission. It gives also an overview of the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Stability and the Growth Pact, the Macro-economic Imbalances Procedure, the Joint Employment Guidelines ...

Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance and the Recovery of France, is participating in the ECON Committee in his capacity of President of the ECOFIN Council during the French Presidency (January-June 2022). In accordance with the Treaty of the Union, “Member States shall regard their economic policies as a matter of common concern and shall coordinate them within the Council”. This briefing provides an overview of the French presidency priorities in ECON matters, including the Council ...

This is the sixth edition of an annual EPRS publication aimed at identifying and framing some of the key issues and policy areas that have the potential to feature prominently in public debate and on the political agenda of the European Union over the coming year. The topics analysed encompass achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining economic growth, securing supply chains of semiconductors, moving towards sustainable agriculture, ensuring nuclear non proliferation, shaping the economic ...

The geopolitical, economic and security situation in Europe has evolved significantly in the past 12 years since the Eastern Partnership (EaP) was launched in 2009. Taking into account the pandemic context and the growing pressure on democracies and multilateralism worldwide, an assertive Russia under Vladimir Putin and an increasingly influential China, the role and responsibility of the European Union – a major global champion of democracy and multilateralism – in the EaP region are growing. Against ...

These proceedings summarise the presentations and discussions that took place during the EMPL workshop held on 2 December 2021 on Mental health and well-being in the digital world of work post COVID. The workshop had four presentations, each followed by a Q&A session. The presentations touched upon the cost of poor mental health and the cost of inaction, digitalisation in the world of work, innovative and practical ways to create a resilient workplace and the role of legislation at national and EU ...

Whereas social media provide individuals with new opportunities to access information, express opinions, and participate in democratic processes, they can also undermine democracy by distorting information, promoting false stories and facilitating political manipulation. This EPRS paper provides an overview of the key risks social media pose to democracy related to surveillance, personalisation, disinformation, moderation and microtargeting. It also discusses key approaches to tackling social media ...

This paper aims to support the scrutiny of the national Recovery and Resilience Plans and its implementation by providing an overview of EU stakeholders, other relevant institutions and bodies’ assessments/opinions related to these plans, including specific monitoring activities by think tanks and civil society organisations. Furthermore, it includes a summary of the Commission assessments of the overall involvement of stakeholders in the recovery and resilience plans. The paper will be regularly ...